Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Monday - Wednesday, 10/19 - 10/21, Days 12, 13, 14

MondaySlept in this morning, sooo tired and pain is less so I really CAN sleep!

Tuesday morningMuch less red, swollen, MUCH BETTER! Dr. Tonsil gave the thumbs-up and said to check back in after 4 weeks. I can go back to work on Monday. I slept all night and half the morning, catching up on rest and repair.

HURRAH!

Tuesday eveningEven better... I'll have noodles for dinner tonight AND a good night's sleep! And no more percocet - just liquid tylenol.

1 comment:

I am a 31 y/o female who has had two 9lb babies naturally, wisdom teeth extracted while being awake, and had the left side of my thyroid removed last spring. All of these physically painful events in my life do not hold a candle to the pain I have endured over the course of the last 6 days which have followed my tonsillectomy procedure. Holy freaking shit! I was in no way prepared for this pain. I have pushed through it quite gracefully, as I am not a complainer by nature and I have issues with laying around. I have been eating solid foods since day 1, I have been drinking lots of water, setting my alarm to go off every hour at night to prevent my throat from getting too dry, I've kept up on housework, cooking, showering, driving my kids to and from school, and today was my first day back to work! I find that keeping busy helps to keep my mind off the pain. Everyone I work with and those close to me just think I'm nuts, but hey, everyone has their own way to cope with things. I wish luck to all who plan on having this surgery. It is truely a nasty, cruel experience because the true pain doesn't set in until around Day 3 post-op. From there, it climbs and climbs until you think you can't take anymore. You can't even let yourself sleep! Sleeping too long causes the throat to dry out. When you wake up with a dry throat while recovering from a tonsillectomy, there aren't words to describe the level of pain. My advice is to try and continue to live. Eat, drink, talk. Push through the pain. Also, to avoid nasty post op breath, do not be afraid to brush your tongue vigorously, and gargle with hydrogen peroxide and warm salt water. Not mixed together, just alternate them. Do one in the morning and one at night and you will not end up with the gross "scab breath" that everyone speaks of. Best wishes!

What's this about?

After years of sore throats, difficulty breathing, and general discomfort, several docs advised me to have my tonsils removed, and my XXL uvula trimmed. Get my throat oysters shucked, so to speak. The docs warned me that adult tonsillectomy is nothing like a kid's tonsillectomy. Bigger tonsils, more nerve ending = bigger holes, more pain.
They were right.
In fact it's some of the worst pain I've ever experienced (including broken bones and other kinds of surgery)... But breathing is important, so it's worth it... and I'm finding ways to cope with it that might help other poor Shuckers going through the same thing. Here's the story, as it happens.
Expected pain level progression:
Day 1 -3: mild to moderate pain
Day 4 - 9: moderate to exteme pain
Day 10-14: extreme pain shifts to moderate pain
Day 14 - 20: mild pain